


100 Words: Buffy the Vampire Slayer

by Quaggy



Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-26
Updated: 2018-07-20
Packaged: 2018-07-26 19:05:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 38
Words: 4,700
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7586329
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Quaggy/pseuds/Quaggy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Drabbles of exactly 100 words, written from a variety of prompts, covering pre-series to post-series. Mainly involving Buffy and/or Giles. And sometimes Buffy/Giles.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Goes Around, Comes Around

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Originally Posted: March 15, 2016  
> Last Line Prompt: "A Slayer deserves a night off now and then."  
> Word Count: 100

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> From a Last Line First drabble challenge at the Giles Shorts LiveJournal Community. You take the last line of another 100 drabble and use it as your first line.

A Slayer deserves a night off now and then. Every good Watcher knew that. But it seemed like every night was an excuse to go clubbing. This new Slayer was reckless, irresponsible, and completely aggravating. Not that this Watcher would say any of that out loud. She was not a hypocrite. It didn’t matter, of course. Giles always knew what she was thinking.  
  
“You are enjoying this FAR too much,” Buffy grumbled, as they watched her young charge. Her first as a newly minted Watcher.  
  
“I am actually.”  
  
“Stupid role reversal.”  
  
“I recommend Scotch. Shall I?”  
  
“Yes! A double, please.”


	2. Can’t Always Get What You Want

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Originally Posted: March 18, 2016  
> Last Line Prompt: "He wasn't the man she wanted"  
> Word Count: 100  
> Pairings: Buffy/Giles

He wasn't the man she wanted as a girl. She’d been too blinded by the dark and mysterious. But like the song said, you get what you need. She needed someone strong and calm when her world went insane. Someone to call her out when she was being stupid and yet never lose faith in her, in who she was. Someone who’d trust her with even the ugly parts of himself. Who wouldn’t see her strength as his weakness.  
  
But she never would have believed that Giles could ever need her. Not like that. Not until he practically screamed it.

 


	3. New Job Frustrations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Originally Posted: March 18, 2016  
> Last Line Prompt: "It wasn’t exactly what he’d had in mind."  
> Word Count: 100

It wasn’t exactly what he’d had in mind when he found out he was to be posted to the Hellmouth. Becoming the epitome of the tweedy British stereotype. Hiding all his academic degrees that a librarian hired by the Californian public school system just wouldn’t have. He would even have to drive an old banger of a car to better fit the image.  
  
He was leaving behind London, a job he loved at the British Museum and the promise of starting something up again with Olivia.  
  
All for a Slayer he knew nothing about. She had better be worth it.


	4. Oh, To Be Wrong!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Originally Posted: March 24, 2016  
> Last Line Prompt: "Giles closed his eyes."  
> Word Count: 200
> 
> WARNING: Character Death and Dark Themes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This veers off canon shortly after _Tabula Rasa_.
> 
> "Oh To Be Wrong!" and "Just To See You Once Again" in Chapter 5 are linked, so you'll have to read the first to understand the second. All you really need to know is that I dislike Season 6 intensely and yet somehow responded by writing a scenario that was arguably just as dark and depressing. Feel free to skip over to Chapter 6 if you prefer something happier.

Giles closed his eyes. So he had guessed right.  
  
He thought it was him. That he couldn’t reconnect with his Slayer because he was no longer worthy. A price needed to be paid for Ben’s death, after all. It was only on the airplane that he let himself wonder if the reverse was true. That it was Buffy. Or rather that it wasn’t Buffy at all.  
  
All sources agreed. Not even the blackest of magics can rip a soul from heaven. The best that the spell could then do was create a near perfect copy from the dust of her bones. A copy that might reasonably assume that she’d been in heaven, thanks to an echo that Buffy’s soul left behind.  
  
But the copy would lack Buffy’s fire and, having no drive of her own, would then become what those around her wanted her to be. Xander’s hero. Anya’s protection. Spike’s... Oh God....  
  
Dawn? In her heart of hearts maybe what she really wanted was a big sister who wasn’t so perfect. Willow might as well, for her own reasons.  
  
All he wanted of Buffy was something a copy couldn’t do. Giles sighed. He needed to fix this, but how?

 


	5. Just To See You Once Again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Originally Posted: March 24, 2016  
> Last Line Prompt: "Giles, what have you done"  
> Word Count: 200
> 
> WARNING: Character Death and Dark Themes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The title is from the song "Everything I Own" by Bread, which I think fits Giles's mental state a bit too well.
> 
> "Just To See You Once Again" and "Oh To Be Wrong!" in Chapter 4 are linked, so you'll have to read the first to understand the second. All you really need to know is that I dislike Season 6 intensely and yet somehow responded by writing a scenario that was arguably just as dark and depressing.

"Giles, what have you done?!"  
  
“I had to, Buffy. It was—”  
  
“The fastest way to undo the damage of Willow’s spell. I know. But Giles! At what cost?!”  
  
He never could keep secrets from her.  
  
It was a conscientious and circumspect spell, only calling the soul of a loved one back if she was willing. The purpose was temporary, to convey last instructions and farewells. To nullify necromantic meddling. It was only considered black magic due to the cost on the spell-caster’s own lifespan. The longer Giles kept the spell going, the shorter his life would be.  
  
“It’s worth it. Not just for countering effects of the spell.”  
  
Her eyes were soft and understanding. “Giles, I’m safe. I’m fine.”  
  
“I know. I can see that now.” And he could. She was gold and glowing.  
  
“Then let the spell go.”  
  
“...I miss you.”  
  
“What? And you think you’re never going to see me again? Wait… You do! Giles!! Don’t you know you have more than earned your place beside me?!”  
  
“Then... I’ll be seeing you soon. The doctors said I had a year at most.”  
  
“Oh God! That’s why you—”  
  
“It’s fine. Without you, it wasn’t much of a life anyway.”


	6. Only Sleeping

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Originally Posted: March 26, 2016  
> Last Line Prompt: "He didn't like it"  
> Word Count: 100  
> Pairings: Shades of Buffy/Giles

He didn't like it. Buffy kept falling asleep on him.  
  
Well, he did like her warm weight on his shoulder. That she still trusted him enough to let her guard down. But she did it so often he’d begun to suspect that it was the only time she was getting uninterrupted sleep.  
  
A whole world full of Slayers and yet somehow it still always came down to his. (Yes, his. Always his.)  
  
He’d figure out how to solve this. In the meantime, he’d just hold her close and glare at anyone that dared approach them. It was effective, at least.  
  


	7. Inherited Skill

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Originally Posted: March 28, 2016  
> Last Line Prompt: "Her eyes just said it all"  
> Word Count: 100  
> Pairings: Buffy/Giles

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was going to leave the pairing more open, but Buffy had other ideas.

Her eyes just said it all. So did the chocolate around her mouth.  
  
“Zoey, do not lie to me. Were you sneaking cookies before diner?”  
  
“I’m sorry, Daddy.”  
  
Giles did his best to remain stern, but it was a near thing. She looked entirely too much like her mother.  
  
Buffy laughed when he told her about it later. “You think after all these years of being around me, you’d be more immune to a good pout!”  
  
“Quite the opposite, in fact. You’ve always made me far too happy that I gave in. After all this time, it’s a conditioned response.”

 


	8. Masquerade

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Originally Posted: November 29, 2016  
> Prompt: Mask  
> Word Count: 100  
> Pairings: post-series Buffy/Giles

Her mask obscured her features and her British accent was fairly good, but he would always know his Slayer. What he didn’t know was why she was flirting with him. Was it a joke? Or did she not recognize him? To find out, he leaned in close, turned on the charm, and whispered: “And what would you do if I suggested we move this to somewhere more private?”

“I’d say ‘let’s go before anyone realizes that the Head Slayer just ran off with their Head Watcher’,” she replied seriously, in her own voice.

It was hours before they were missed.


	9. Keep It To Yourself

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Originally Posted: December 27, 2016  
> Prompt: Mask  
> Word Count: 100  
> Pairings: post-series Buffy/Giles

It was time for him to put on his mask again. The caring, paternal one he wore whenever he would try to comfort her, especially after she’d had a bad breakup. It wasn’t easy for him to do, but he did it willingly. He did though sometimes curse these stupid wayward feelings that prevented him from fully embracing his role. They only truly started to bloom after Sunnydale, but they were increasingly becoming more difficult to ignore. But that was his failing, not hers. And he didn’t mind, really. For her, he would do anything. Except let his mask slip.


	10. Underneath It All

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Originally Posted: December 27, 2016  
> Prompt: Mask  
> Word Count: 100  
> Pairings: post-series Buffy/Giles

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Though you can read them read separately, I prefer to think of this drabble as set in the same post-series future as Chapter 9 “Keep It To Yourself”.

His mask slipped. He’d always been so careful. He never once wavered, not even when the subject was some pillock who didn’t realize how lucky he was that Buffy should even look his way, let alone consent to date him. But they’d been talking about something so completely innocuous that he hadn’t been on guard. He knew Buffy caught his slip, slight though it was. So here he sat, on a knife’s edge, waiting to see how she would respond. Slowly, she began to smile and Giles, in awe, realized that Buffy had been wearing a mask of her own.


	11. Father's Son

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Originally Posted: February 10, 2017  
> Prompt: "It is a wise father than knows his own child."  
> Word Count: 200

The boy was the rough looking sort. All leather and shredded denim, splattered with something that looked like blood. But rather than scurry past, the man –who looked like he should be in Mayfair, not in this particularly rough and grimy part of London— sat down beside him on the bank of the Thames, heedless of his pristine suit.

“How did you find me?” the boy asked, gruffly.

“An educated guess.”

“So you know, then?”

“Yes. Between the books you left behind and what we could gather from your… companions, I think we have a clear picture of what happened. You were reckless to play with such things, but, even so, what happen couldn’t have been predicted,” the man replied. Leaning forward, the man caught the boy’s eye. “The fact that it wasn’t worse is due to your quick thinking. You handled yourself beautifully. I’m proud of you.”

And that was it. The boy broke down sobbing. Though the man offered no words of comfort or physical demonstrations of affection, his compassion enveloped the boy like a blanket. When the boy had finally calmed himself, the man asked quietly, “Shall we go home then, Rupert?” 

“Yes, Da. I’d like that.”


	12. The Eyes Have It

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Originally Posted: February 16, 2017  
> Prompt: "Beware the green-eyed monster."  
> Word Count: 100

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think you all can guess what Season 4 episode this is from.

Grief is a funny thing. It makes you deadly. It makes you dumb. Not a great combination.

And as she stared down at monster that killed Giles, she realized just how stupid she’d been, because she’d know those green eyes anywhere. And who else would start reassuring her that he was alright seconds after receiving a supposed death blow by her own hands? Because even if she couldn’t speak “monster,” she knew that’s what he was telling her.

But it seemed that the more she fussed over him, the calmer he became. Her green-eyed monster was going to be okay.


	13. The Third Time Isn’t the Charm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Originally Posted: February 16, 2017  
> Prompt: "You take my life when you take the means whereby I live."  
> Word Count: 200  
> Pairing: Buffy/Giles

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Post-series, if that wasn't already obvious.

He wasn’t there the first time, though he had tried to be. Tried to take her place. The less he thought about the second time, the better. And now here he was, desperately casting a counter-curse to prevent the third. The dark miasma surrounding her disappeared. His spell was successful, but that didn’t mean he succeeded. She was so still.

“Please. Oh please! Oh please,” he begged, dropping to his knees beside her. “Can’t go on without her. Won’t go on. Please!”

“Love you too,” Buffy croaked, eyes still closed, and Giles sobbed in relief. He didn’t even realize he was kissing her until he felt her lips move under his and her hand thread through his hair. He quickly pulled away.

“So, that’s what a girl has to do to get kissed around here. Good to know,” Buffy grinned, sounding both smug and exhausted. Giles found himself smiling back. 

“Well, if you would be so kind as to refrain from getting yourself killed yet again, I promise I will kiss you as often as you like,” he said.

“You’ve got yourself a deal,” Buffy declared and tapped her finger to her lips. Giles was quick to answer her command.


	14. London Fog

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Originally Posted: March 3, 2017  
> Last Line Prompt: "Dubiously, Giles asked, 'What exactly is in this potion?'"  
> Word Count: 100

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is probably set post-series because it's unlikely that Buffy would have had a London Fog before 2003. But it's fine by me if you'd rather think of this exchange as happening during their Sunnydale days.

Dubiously, Giles asked, "What exactly is in this potion?"

“Mostly Earl Grey and milk,” Buffy replied. “Trust me, you’ll like it.” She rolled her eyes as Giles gave it a suspicious sniff. “You sure make it difficult for someone to fuss over you.”

“I’m not an invalid, Buffy.”

“No, you’ve just been running yourself into the ground. Now drink your tea and rest up. We need you in fighting form.” 

It was no use arguing with her when she was like this. Giles took a cautious sip of the strange brew and grumbled. He hated it when she was right.


	15. One Day Later

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Originally Posted: March 10, 2017  
> Last Line Prompt: "After all, it was her destiny."  
> Word Count: 100

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In honor of the 20th anniversary of "Welcome to the Hellmouth"/"The Harvest" and paired with Chapter 16 "Twenty Years Later"

It was her destiny, but that didn’t mean she had to like it.

Being the Slayer destroyed the life she had, but she had a chance to all start over again in Sunnydale. Except her new town had a vampire problem too.

But she had made a few friends already. Willow was all kinds of awesome and Xander wasn’t too bad either, once you got past the teenage boy posturing. And she liked her new Watcher far more than she wanted to admit. It sort of felt like she’d known him forever.

Maybe things would work out okay after all.


	16. Twenty Years Later

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Originally Posted: March 10, 2017  
> Last Line Prompt: "After all, it was her destiny."  
> Word Count: 100

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In honor of the 20th anniversary of "Welcome to the Hellmouth"/"The Harvest" and paired with Chapter 15 "One Day Later"

It was her destiny, but it sure had turned out different from what she had expected.

She was still alive for one thing. Heck, it was well over fifteen years since the last time she died. And life had gotten pretty peaceful in the last decade. 

Even though they all lived in different parts of the world, she was able to see Willow and Xander on a fairly regular basis. And Giles, once her Watcher and now so much more than that, was still by her side, stalwart and true.

Maybe it wasn’t so bad being a Slayer after all.


	17. A Moment During The Scooby Reunion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Originally Posted: March 15, 2017  
> Last Line Prompt: "She wanted to keep him all to herself."  
> Word Count: 100  
> Pairing: Buffy/Giles

She wanted to keep him all to herself, but she was going to have to give him back to his parents eventually. 

“He’s quite taken with you,” Giles laughed.

“It’s mutual,” Buffy replied, smiling down at the infant.

“Has that inspired any thoughts?” he asked, his eyes hopeful.

“No, Giles, my biological clock isn’t ticking,” she replied and did her best not to laugh at his crestfallen expression. “Because we’ll have one of these of our very own by the spring.”

“Wait… Do you mean?”

“Here,” Buffy said, passing the baby to her awestruck husband. “You better get some practice.”


	18. Tattoo Removal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Originally Posted: March 16, 2017  
> Last Line Prompt: "She watched him leave with a wicked smile on her face."  
> Word Count: 100

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Set after right after _The Dark Age_.

With a wicked smile on her face, Buffy spun around and lifted up her hair.

“It’s gone!” exclaimed Giles, his fingers brushed the nape of her neck where the tattoo had been.

“Yup! The back of my neck has been crazy itchy all day. By the time I looked, Ethan’s stupid souvenir had faded to practically nothing. I guess my Slayer healing doesn’t like evil tattoos. Or possibly just tattoos in general.”

“Amazing!”

“It sure beats a vial of acid!”

“Well, Ethan always did go for dramatic rather than effective.”

“So, his plan wouldn’t have worked?”

“Not on any level.”


	19. Tattoo Removal Too

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Originally Posted: March 29, 2017  
> Last Line Prompt: "Giles smiled but said nothing."  
> Word Count: 100

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Set after right after Season 4. I wasn't expecting to write a sequel to Tattoo Removal, but sometimes the muse has other plans for you.

Giles smiled but said nothing as Buffy examined his arm.

“It’s gone!”

“Yes.”

“But how?!”

“The enjoining spell, I assume. My arm had started to itch afterwards, but I didn’t think much about it.”

“Places to go. Apocalypses to stop.”

“Exactly. It was only after our shared dream that I noticed it was gone completely.”

“Well, we have our proof now. Slayer healing really doesn’t like tattoos.”

“Evil tattoos.” 

“Huh?”

“I had more than one. The others are fine.”

“Others?! As in plural? Like two or more?”

“That shocks you?”

“Giles, at this point, nothing about you shocks me anymore.”


	20. Go Where You’re Needed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Originally Posted: March 31, 2017  
> Last Line Prompt: "She turned and looked at him so sadly."  
> Word Count: 100  
> Pairing: Buffy/Giles

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Linked with Chapter 21 "Stay Where You Belong".

She turned and looked at him so sadly when he said that he was returning to England, but she didn’t seem surprised. 

“I figured. You need to set up operations in London, right?”

“Yes, but I can stay here, if I’m needed.” But his words seemed to only make her more forlorn.

“Not as much as you are there. No one else can do what you do.” And suddenly, Giles realized that in a world full of Slayers, Buffy might reasonably assume that no one needed her.

Except he did. Down to his very soul.

“Buffy, please? Come with me?”


	21. Stay Where You Belong

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Originally Posted: March 31, 2017  
> Last Line Prompt: "It didn’t matter how much she begged."  
> Word Count: 100  
> Pairing: Buffy/Giles

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Linked with Chapter 20 "Go Where You’re Needed".

It didn’t matter how much she begged, Giles would eventually leave again. Buffy knew that without needing to be told. She just wasn’t enough to keep him by her side. 

But she never expected that he’d ask her to go with him.

“You mean that?”

“With all my heart.” His voice shook with emotion and she knew he wasn’t lying. 

“If I come with you, you’ll never be able to get rid of me,” she warned, blinking back tears.

“Promise?”

It was hard to say who reached for who first, but neither one had any intention of ever letting go.


	22. Family Matters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Originally Posted: June 8, 2017  
> Word count: 100  
> Last line / first line: "The Sunnydale survivors needed better ways of making money."

The Sunnydale survivors needed better ways of making money. So, it was welcome news when a letter arrived stating that he was Richard Asquith’s sole surviving heir. He had been an elderly Watcher who had died in a Bringer attack. Giles hadn’t realized that he was related to the old goat, but, then again, most Watchers were.... He needed to talk to Willow immediately.  
  
Between he and Robinson, they were related to most of the old Watcher families and better their money be dedicated to saving the world than go to the crown.  
  
Now, this was an idea worth investigating.


	23. Remember to Ask Your Watcher

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Originally Posted: June 8, 2017  
> Word count: 100  
> Last line / first line: "Something to ask her Watcher as soon as he stopped seeing stars."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Directly related to a certain scene in 1x07.

Something to ask her Watcher, as soon as he stopped seeing stars, was why he bothered to train her in the quarterstaff, at all. She used stakes.

“Because it’s good physical conditioning,” said Merrick. “Once you’ve advanced a bit more, we’ll start training you in weapons that you’ll actually find useful on a hunt.”

But, months later, it was a different Watcher who began her weapons training. And he picked a quarterstaff, of all things, to start her off with. Seriously. She’d have to ask him if he ever bothered to read Merrick’s journals. Right after she kicked his butt.


	24. Late Night Run

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Originally Posted: June 8, 2017  
> Word count: 100  
> Pairings: Buffy/Giles  
> Last line / first line: "There were some things he just really didn’t want to know."

There were some things he just really didn’t want to know. Like why Giles was sneaking out of Buffy’s room in the wee hours of the morning. But never let it be said that he’d pass up such an opportunity for embarrassment.

“And what do you think you’re doing?”

“Oh! Xander! Umm…”

“Because it looks like you’re sneaking out of Buffy’s like some Lothario.”

“I was not!”

“He’s coming back. He’s going to get more condoms,” Buffy’s voice called out. Xander looked at Giles, horrified. 

“We ran out,” Giles shrugged.

Right. So, the only one he’d be embarrassing was himself.


	25. A Typical Conversation Between Old Marrieds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Originally Posted: June 8, 2017  
> Word count: 100  
> Pairings: Buffy/Giles  
> Last line / first line: "Sometimes I do."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case it's not clear by the number of apocalypses, this takes place about ten years after Chosen.

“Sometimes I do wonder why I bother. It’s not like any of them listen to me.”  
  
“Slayers today…”  
  
“You mock, Giles, but I’m serious. I’m treated like a senile old granny. Never mind that I’ve save the world fourteen times so far.”  
  
“Fifteen. You forgot Caracas.”  
  
“Right. The point is that today’s Slayers do not listen to me. They think I’m clueless and old-fashioned.”  
  
“Well, I think you’re brilliant and sexy.”  
  
“That’s because you are trying to get into my pants.”  
  
“I am in your pants.”  
  
“Oh! So, you are! Well, today’s looking better already!”  
  
“Glad to be of service.”  
  
  



	26. Righteous Anger

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Originally Posted: June 8, 2017  
> Word count: 200  
> Pairing: Buffy/Giles  
> Last line / first line: "I wasn't talking to you."

"I wasn't talking to you. Like ever."  
  
“Buffy, please…”  
  
But she had already stormed off. Giles closed his eyes in pain. Buffy’s animosity too closely mirrored those last terrible days in Sunnydale. But things had changed dramatically since then and Giles had too much to lose now. So, he followed her.  
  
Her office door was unlocked, which he took as a good sign. She was facing the window and she did not turn around as he approached.  
  
“You can’t tell me that you want to spend the rest of your life with me and then try get yourself killed in the next breath,” she told him, her rage barely contained.  
  
“I wasn’t trying to—“  
  
“No!” she cried, spinning around to confront him. “You took on a _Grosserhässlicher_ demon by yourself! What the hell were you thinking?”  
  
“I was thinking you were trapped on the other side of the door he was guarding!”  
  
“I wasn’t!”  
  
“I know that! Now! I promise you, Buffy, I wasn’t taking any needless risks. There’s no power on this earth that could drag me away from you.”  
  
“You really thought I was still imprisoned?”  
  
“Yes.”  
  
“That Big Ugly demon didn’t stand a chance, did he?”  
  
“No.”


	27. Sandalwood

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Originally Posted: July 10, 2017  
> Word Count: 100

Giles smelled like sandalwood again.  
  
For as long as she knew him, Giles always smelled faintly of sandalwood. Except last year when he was on the run and sharing a bathroom with more than a dozen girls. Then he just smelled like soap. First, the cheap stuff she would buy on sale and then hotel soap after Sunnydale fell.  
  
But now they were back in London, reforming the Council, and things were finally looking up. And Giles smelled like sandalwood again.  
“Buffy, are you alright?”  
  
“Yeah, Giles. Why do you ask?”  
  
“Well… You’re crying.”  
  
“Am I? Just happy, I guess.”


	28. The Best Laid Plans

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Originally Posted: July 10, 2017  
> Word Count: 100  
> Pairing: Buffy/Giles

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Post-Chosen, if it wasn't already obvious.

He was never good at this part. The asking. Even when he was confident he was going to get a positive response. And he wasn’t all certain that he would in this case. He usually found it much easier to skip straight to the tumble into bed. He was good at seduction. But not with her. An evening chat was too familiar a setting for her to pick up any romantic overtones, even if he substituted a bottle of wine for the pot of tea.

Finally, he just gave up his plans and kissed her instead. At least it worked.

 


	29. Mirror Image

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Originally Posted: September 27, 2017  
> Giles Shorts Prompt: "My Father's Eyes" (Giles's Record Collection)  
> Word Count: 100

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Post Season 5. Just when, I'll leave up to you

My father had the kindest eyes. Even at his most serious, you could always see the laughter lurking behind them.  
  
After his Slayer’s death, I know he tried to be just as good of a father and husband as he was before. I never doubted that he was proud of me and it was obvious that he adored my mother. But his eyes were never the same. There was a sorrow in them that never quite went away.  
  
I now think about that every morning when I look in the mirror and my father’s weary eyes stare back at me.


	30. Two Lost Souls

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Originally Posted: October 2, 2017  
> Giles Shorts Prompt: "Wish You Were Here" (Giles's Record Collection)  
> Word Count: 200

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Set post-series. In case it's not obvious, the song playing was "Wish You Were Here" by Pink Floyd.

It was just another night out at the pub. Nothing special. The usual bunch Watchers and Senior Slayers unwinding, having a drink and a chat. Tonight, at least for the moment, it wasn’t so loud that you couldn’t hear the music playing in the background.

Giles froze at the opening bars, which caught Buffy’s attention from the corner of her eye. She watched as he quietly made his way over to a nearby sofa and sat down. Pulled into himself. 

She knew the song too. Knew he must be thinking of someone that he had lost and, God, he had lost so many people along the way. He could be thinking about anyone, honestly. But it didn’t matter if it was somebody she had never met. She wasn’t going to leave him alone with his pain. 

She slipped down next to him and rested her head on his shoulder. Instantly, his arm came around her, pulling her close, and he planted a fervent kiss on her head. Blinking back tears, she wrapped her arms around him and held back just as tightly. 

They sat like that long after the song ended, as the party continued to swirl around them unaware.


	31. He Has His Reasons

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Originally Posted: October 2, 2017  
> Giles Shorts Prompt: "I Found a Reason" (Giles's Record Collection)  
> Word Count: 200

It wasn’t easy returning to the Council fold. The snide remarks. The smug looks. Not to mention, the outright hostility.  
  
“Honestly, right now, the only thing keeping me going is pure obstinacy. That and not wanting to disappoint Gran,” he confessed to his parents on a visit home.  
  
“There are worse reasons, Rupert,” his mother said gently.  
  
“Not disappointing my mother is a bloody good reason, if you ask me,” his father interjected. His wife shot him a glare.  
  
“If I might continue?” she asked.  
  
“Yes, dear. Sorry,” her husband replied, contritely, as her son bit back a grin. His mum and gran were the only people he knew who could keep his dad in line.  
  
“Rupert, my darling, don’t lose heart,” his mother continued, taking his hand. “Remember that someday you are going to find not just reasons to keep going, but the reason that will make it all worth it. I promise you will.”  
  
“Thanks, Mum.” The thought did help. (Though he wouldn’t truly understand what she meant until the day he’d met Buffy Summers, someone beyond his current ability to imagine.) “I just wish it’d happen soon.”  
  
“Well, in the meantime, there’s always blackmail,” his father offered.


	32. The Worst Holiday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Originally Posted: October 31, 2017  
> Giles Shorts Prompt: Halloween  
> Word Count: 100

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Paired with Chapter 33 "The Best Holiday"

She hated Halloween.

Well, she like the costumes and the candy and the party at preschool. But those were all over long ago. And now she was alone in her room and there were ghosts and skeletons and vampires outside. And it was scary. And she didn’t like being scared.

Her mommy and daddy didn’t understand. They loved Halloween. She could still hear them laughing downstairs. They said that this was just a phase and she would like it more next year. They didn’t believe that monsters were real, but Buffy knew better.

They were real and she hated Halloween.


	33. The Best Holiday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Originally Posted: October 31, 2017  
> Giles Shorts Prompt: Halloween  
> Word Count: 100

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Paired with Chapter 33 "The Worst Holiday"

She loved Halloween.

She loved the costumes and the candy and the party at Aunt Dawnie’s. She loved that she could stay up late, because Mummy and Daddy loved Halloween too and everyone had been looking forward to it All! Year! Long!!

Well, she didn’t like everything. She didn’t like all the ghosts and skeletons and scary things. But Daddy said that none of them were real and, if any of them they were, Mummy would beat them all up. And Mummy would too, because it was her job!!

It was the best holiday after Christmas and she loved Halloween.


	34. Confessions of a Bibliophile

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Originally Posted: November 11, 2017  
> Giles Shorts Prompt: Books (His Favorite Things)  
> Word Count: 100

Ethan stopped teasing him about poking around bookshops after he’d brought home that old spell book. And if anyone asked, the poetry was to impress girls. But, in reality, he could no more abandon his books than he could stop breathing. The musty smell as he walked through the bookshop door, the triumph of a successful hunt, the joy in an unexpected treasure, the comfort of a paperback in his back pocket, they were all a part of him.

Ripper had left behind everything that had to do with Rupert Giles, but he took his love of books with him.


	35. The Shock of the Old

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Originally Posted: November 18, 2017  
> Giles Shorts Prompt: Giles's Record Collection  
> Word Count: 200

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Post-Chosen. Feel free to ignore the B/G undertones if that's not your thing.

“Buffy?”  
  
“Yes, dear?”  
  
“One of the new Slayers… well…”  
  
“Oh, no! I knew that this year’s party was going too well! What is it?”  
  
“No. Nothing bad. Just damn unnerving.”   
  
“Giles, we’ve been hosting these holiday parties for ten years now. We’ve had monster invasions, cat fights, break ups and hook ups. We’ve fielded intrusive questions about dating vampires and Watcher/ Slayer relations. It wouldn’t be a party if something unnerving didn’t happen!”  
  
“True. That one Slayer with the hat? I found her in front of my record collection. She was quite enthusiastic.”  
  
“That’s not surprising. You have great taste.”  
  
“Not about the collection itself. That we were keeping with the times by investing in vinyl. Buffy, those records are older than she is!”  
  
“What…? Oh! Don’t worry! It’s a just hipster thing. Next time just smile and nod and hope they go away.”   
  
“A hipster? I don’t want to know, do I?””  
  
“Probably not.”  
  
“She hadn’t heard of a fraction of the bands. She asked if George Harrison was any good and said that she liked to keep track of up-and-coming musicians. Stop laughing, Buffy. It’s not funny!”  
  
“Yes, it really is!”  
  
“Well, perhaps that part’s a little funny.”  
  



	36. Strange How the Knight Moves

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Originally Posted: March 4, 2018  
> Word count: 100  
> Last line / first line: "Think very carefully about your next move."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I couldn't resist the pun on the Bob Seger song for the title. This is probably set during Season 1 or early Season 2.

“Think very carefully about your next move,” Giles cautioned.   
  
Buffy huffed in aggravation and stared at the chessboard. She didn’t need the reminder. She knew she was in trouble and Giles’s grin confirmed it. He claimed that playing chess would sharpen her ability to think strategically, but privately she suspected that he liked it because he could beat her this way without taking a physical beating in the process. But wait… If she took her knight and moved it…  
  
“CHECK!!!”  
  
She may not have the upper hand for long, but it was worth it for the look on Giles’s face.


	37. Great Expectations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Originally Posted: March 31, 2018  
> Word count: 100  
> Last line / first line: "He'll be the one laughing."  
> Pairing: B/G

He'll be the one laughing at Buffy’s wedding, that’s what he always thought. And why wouldn’t he be? His Slayer would have beaten all the odds and been able to have that normal life she so craved. Yet, here he was with actual tears falling, far happier than he ever could have imagined. But then he never imagined he’d be the groom.  
  
“Giles, don’t cry. You’ll make me cry too and that’ll mess up my make-up,” Buffy whispered, as she reached up to dry his tears. He caught her hand and kissed it.  
  
“Well, we can’t have that,” he grinned.


	38. Tea Snob

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Originally Posted: July 20, 2018  
> Word Count: 200  
> Pairing: slight traces of post-Chosen Buffy/Giles

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written for Summer of Giles 2018. (Yes, I'm a bit of a tea snob myself and I named dropped a few of my favorites.)

Like any good Brit, he loved his tea, but he wasn’t too particular about type or band. He was happy enough with PG Tips or Yorkshire Tea as he was with something much posher. Which was probably for the best since he had to choke down Liptons on more than one occasion during his time in America.

Buffy was a different story. There really wasn’t a tea that she didn’t enjoy, but she had definite preferences. There were specific tea sellers in London that she would frequent and her loose teas took up a full cabinet in their house in Bath. She could tell you in detail the differences between Assam and Darjeeling and why she preferred genmaicha in particular to all other green teas. It made him laugh, since he was the one that introduced her to tea in the first place, and now she was the one educating him. That and because she always looked so baffled as to why he didn’t already know all of this already.

Giles took a sip of the Lapsang Souchong that she had just brewed for him —her favorite— and sighed with pleasure. He had to admit, she did have excellent taste.


End file.
